Jan. 23, 1997
1996 Season Wrapup
VIRGINIA FALLS TO DUKE 1-0: The Cavaliers finished the 1996 season with a 1-0 loss at Duke in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Duke junior Kari Juncker scored the only goal in the defensive battle at the 47:50 mark. Juncker took a long cross from senior Emily Studebaker and knocked it in from eight yards away. The Cavaliers had some excellent scoring chances late in the game, but the Blue Devils held on for the win. Duke has now won four straight games against Virginia, with each of those wins being a shutout.
VIRGINIA IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: This season, the Cavaliers made their third straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament and their ninth in the last 10 years. Virginia now has an overall record of 1-9-0 in NCAA action. The Cavaliers are 0-6-0 at home in NCAA Tournament games and 1-3-0 on the road. Virginia’s only victory in NCAA action came in 1991, when it posted a 2-0 win at Connecticut.
THE ACC TOURNAMENT: The Cavaliers advanced to the semifinals of the ACC Tournament before falling to top-seeded North Carolina 5-2. The Cavaliers posted a 4-1 win over North Carolina State in their first round game. The win over the Wolfpack was Virginia’s first in postseason play since beating Maryland 3-1 in the first round of the 1993 ACC Tournament, and the four goals were the Cavaliers’ most ever in a postseason game. After it downed Virginia in the semifinals, North Carolina went on to defeat Clemson 4-1 in the tournament championship game.
THE NORTH CAROLINA RECAP: No. 2 ranked North Carolina scored five unanswered goals to overcome an early deficit and down No. 11 Virginia 5-2 in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament. Jennifer Keefe gave the Cavaliers a 1-0 lead at the 16:30 mark, when she hit from eight yards out in the center. Laurie Schwoy tied the game at the 20:18 mark, then Robin Confer put the Tar Heels ahead to stay with a goal at 22:55. In the second half, Confer, Cindy Parlow and Debbie Keller all scored to give North Carolina a 5-1 lead. Lindsay Ritter added the first goal of her collegiate career at the 85:01 mark, hitting from 20 yards at the top right side of the box to make the final score 5-2.
THE NORTH CAROLINA STATE RECAP: Angela Hucles scored two goals and Jennifer Rawlings had three assists as No. 11 Virginia downed No. 19 N.C. State 4-1 in the first round of the ACC Tournament. Stephanie Sanders had given the Wolfpack a 1-0 lead at the 19:28 mark off a pass from Stacey Hampton. Hucles tied the game up at 36:02 off a feed from Rawlings. After the intermission, Jennifer Keefe scored what would prove to be the game winning goal off a pass from Carryn Weigand at 55:22. Hucles would score her second goal at 72:42 and Kelly Buszkiewicz had a header at 76:27, both coming with assists to Rawlings.
HUCLES AND RAWLINGS NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Both Angela Hucles and Jennifer Rawlings were selected to the All-Tournament team at the ACC Tournament. Hucles scored two goals for the Cavaliers in the 4-1 over N.C. State, while Rawlings tied an ACC Tournament single game record with three assists against N.C. State. This marks only the second time Virginia has ever had two All-Tourney selections in a season. In 1992, both Kim Conway and Andrea Rubio were named to the team.
BREAKING THE DROUGHT: Despite losing to North Carolina in the ACC Semifinals, Virginia turned in its best offensive effort ever against the Tar Heels. With two goals in that game, Virginia matched the offensive output of its previous 18 games against North Carolina. The Tar Heels had outscored Virginia 67-2 in the first 18 meetings between the schools. The Cavaliers’ only goals against North Carolina prior to last week had come in a 2-1 win by the Tar Heels at Kloeckner Stadium in 1993 and in a 5-1 win by Carolina during the 1991 NCAA Tournament. In addition, Virginia held a 1-0 lead on the Tar Heels following Jennifer Keefe’s goal at the 16:30 mark. That is the first time the Cavaliers have ever led North Carolina. In addition, North Carolina had not trailed in an ACC Tournament game since 1989 when it fell behind N.C. State 1-0 in the championship game but came back to win 5-3, and has trailed only one other team all season (Notre Dame).
A BIG SCORE: With two goals against North Carolina, the Cavaliers put themselves in elite company. This season, only one other team was able to score two goals against the Tar Heels. That team was top-ranked Notre Dame, which needed overtime to net the two goals in a 2-1 victory. For the year, North Carolina allowed a total of only 11 goals, with two of those being scored by the Cavaliers. Along with Notre Dame and Virginia, the only teams to have scored against the Tar Heels were Duke (lost 2-1), UCLA (lost 3-1), Stanford (lost 6-1), N.C. State (lost 4-1), Florida State (lost 7-1), Clemson (lost 4-1) and Santa Clara (lost 2-1).
FIVE CAVALIERS EARN ALL-ACC HONORS: Virginia placed five players on this year’s All-Atlantic Coast Conference teams, the most in school history. Freshmen Angela Hucles and Megan Boehm both earned first team All-ACC honors, while Dina Padula, Wendy Hartwig and Karem Esteva were all second team selections. With Hucles and Boehm both being named All-ACC, the Cavaliers placed two freshmen on the all-conference teams for the first time. The trio of Padula, Hartwig and Esteva all earned second team honors for the second straight season. Previously, the only Virginia players to have earned All-ACC honors more than once were Tracey Kennedy (a four-time selection from 1987-90) and Amanda Cromwell (a four-time selection from 1988-91). Before this season, Virginia had never had more than three All-ACC choices in a single season.
HUCLES SHATTERS SINGLE SEASON RECORD: With two goals in the win at William & Mary on Oct. 26, freshman forward Angela Hucles broke the UVa single season record for goals scored. Hucles ended up with 17 goals on the year. The old record of 13 goals had been held by Andrea Rubio (1990) and Janet Casewell (1987). Hucles, who also had 34 points this year, now stands second on the Cavalier single season list for points, behind only Rubio (36 points on 13 goals and 10 assists in 1990). With only two more goals, Hucles will move into the Virginia career top 10 for goals scored.
HUCLES CLOSES OUT SEASON STRONG: A first team All-ACC selection, freshman forward Angela Hucles had one of the best years ever by a Virginia freshman. In the ACC Semifinal win over N.C. State, she scored two of the Cavaliers four goals. Her first score came at the 36:02 mark, when Jennifer Rawlings sent a pass from the left corner and she knocked it in from three yards away to tie up the score at 1-1. Hucles also scored the Cavaliers third goal of the game, hitting from 10 yards out in the center after Rawlings had played an early ball on the ground from outside the penalty box. Hucles finished the season with 34 points on 17 goals this season.
KEEFE HITS BIG IN ACC TOURNAMENT: Freshman midfielder Jennifer Keefe had not scored any goals prior to the postseason, but she came through with two of the Cavaliers’ biggest goals during the ACC Tournament. Against N.C. State, Keefe scored the game-winning goal when she headed in a cross by Carryn Weigand from eight yards away to give Virginia a 2-1 lead. Then in the North Carolina game, she gave the Cavaliers a 1-0 lead at the 16:30 mark when she chipped a shot over Tar Heel goalkeeper Gretchen Overgaard from 16 yards out. Keefe scored six points this season, coming on two goals and two assists.
CAVALIERS TIE FOR SECOND IN ACC REGULAR SEASON: Virginia finished in a four-way tie for second place in the ACC regular season standings. The Cavaliers went 3-3-1 in conference games this season, tying Clemson, Duke and N.C. State. This is the fourth time in school history that Virginia has finished second in the ACC. In 1987, the Cavaliers tied with N.C. State for second place as both teams went 1-1-1. Virginia also finished in second place outright in both 1990 (3-1-0) and 1991 (2-1-1). The Cavaliers have never finished first in the ACC.
CAVALIERS PLACE FOUR ON ALL-REGION TEAMS: Virginia had four players named to the All-Mid-Atlantic region teams this season. Freshman Angela Hucles and sophomore Karem Esteva both earned first team All-Region honors. Junior Dina Padula was a second team All-Region selection, while junior Jennifer Rawlings was named third team All-Region.
FIVE UVA PLAYERS MAKE ALL-STATE TEAM: Five Cavaliers were among the players chosen the Virginia Sports Information Directors All-State team. First team selections for the Cavaliers were freshman Angela Hucles, sophomore Karem Esteva and junior Jennifer Rawlings. In addition, senior Kelly McLaughlin and junior Wendy Hartwig both earned second team All-State honors.
FRESHMEN STEP UP ON OFFENSE: During the ACC Tournament, all of the Cavaliers’ goals were scored by freshmen. Against N.C. State, Angela Hucles had two goals, while Jennifer Keefe and Kelly Buszkiewicz scored once each. In the North Carolina game, Keefe again had a goal, while Lindsay Ritter netted the first goal of her career. For the season, 25 of Virginia’s 47 goals (53 percent) were scored by freshmen.
RAWLINGS TIES ACC TOURNAMENT ASSIST RECORD: Junior midfielder Jennifer Rawlings tied an ACC Tournament single game record when she tallied three assists against North Carolina State. Rawlings assisted on both of Angela Hucles’ goals and also had an assist on Kelly Buszkiewicz’s goal. For the season, Rawlings is now tied for the team lead in assists with seven. She is also tied for third place on the team in scoring with 15 points, coming on four goals and seven assists.
DOUBLING UP: While breaking the Virginia single season record for goals scored this year, Angela Hucles made a habit of scoring her goals in bunches. In fact, she scored two goals in a game six times this season. Each of those games has been a Virginia victory and has come either on the road or against a ranked opponent. Hucles tallied two goals at Florida State, North Carolina State and William & Mary, while recording two goals at home against No. 19 George Mason and. No. 20 Wake Forest. She also had a pair of goals against No. 19 North Carolina State during the ACC Tournament.
HEINRICHS HAS SUCCESSFUL FIRST SEASON: Virginia head coach April Heinrichs enjoyed an outstanding first year with the Cavaliers this fall. Only the third head coach in Virginia history, Heinrichs recorded more victories (12) than either of the Cavaliers prior head coaches in their inaugural season (Dan Beshoar went 10-8-0 in 1985 and Lauren Gregg was 8-8-2 in 1986). Heinrichs just concluded her seventh season overall as a head coach, and has a career record of 76-53-10.
THREE SENIORS CLOSE OUT SUCCESSFUL CAREERS: Three members of the UVa women’s soccer team saw their careers come to an end at the conclusion of the 1996 season. Seniors Liz Kelley, Kerry Clancy and Annemarie Murphy have all played their final game for Virginia. During their four years with the Cavaliers, the group led the team to an overall record of 49-26-8, for a .639 winning percentage. They also helped the Cavaliers to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances in 1994, 1995 and 1996.
PADULA CLOSE TO JOINING 20-20 CLUB: Junior forward Dina Padula should become only the third player in school history with 20 career goals and assists early next year. Padula needs only more goal to add to her career totals of 19 goals and 21 assists. The only two players to have previously accomplished this feat at Virginia are Andrea Rubio (36 goals and 30 assists / 1989-92) and Gayle Smith (34 goals and 22 assists / 1986-89).
ON THE CAREER CHARTS: Senior Liz Kelley finished her Virginia career ranked in the top 10 in school history in goals, assists and points. Kelley ranks seventh all-time in points with 69, seventh in goals with 25 and fourth in assists with 19. Junior Dina Padula has also entered the all-time UVa top 10 on each of those lists. Padula ranks third in assists with 21, ninth in points with 59 and ninth in goals with 19.